


Age of Reason

by ardemis



Category: Naruto
Genre: Annoying Naruto, F/M, Modern AU, Sasuke second guesses everything, eventual adult content, in this au Sakura is a year younger than Sasuke, more of the cast to come
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:08:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25540057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ardemis/pseuds/ardemis
Summary: Sasuke is home from his first year at college, and Sakura wants him all to herself. But maybe the picture perfect daughter is just searching for a little bit of rebellion.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke
Kudos: 27





	Age of Reason

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> been holding onto this draft way too long, I really wanted to play around with a real world Naruto au that was a little more dingy without going overboard on angst, so we'll see how that goes. hopefully a little bit more silly than expected

Sasuke didn’t believe there was any reason for Sakura Haruno to show any interest in him. Since he had gone to school with her, she had been too good for him. Student council president, honor roll, captain of more clubs than he could count, no doubt the valedictorian of her class when she graduated next month. With her qualifications, she ought to be the type of girl who knew better than to hang around him at all. But when he came home from his first year at college– exhausted, with stubble and a smoking habit– she was all too eager to reconnect.

He was loitering outside one of the town's half dozen convenience stores, each sadder and grimier than the last. Uzumaki was inside, no doubt getting his fake torn up by the owner who had known him since birth. Sasuke had told him that it wouldn't work in their hometown.

When he saw Mr. Haruno’s car whip around the corner and into the parking lot, he started to drop his cigarette, but a familiar head of pink hair popped out of the driver’s side door. He brought it back to his lips, fully expecting her to walk right by him without a glance.

She lifted her sunglasses to sit on her forehead and he saw her green eyes alight on his like a compass pointing north. Pink tendrils spilled onto her forehead from under her shades. She had kept her hair short while he was away; ever since she had lopped it off abruptly in her tenth year, his eleventh. Sakura hung out of the doorframe of the car casually, putting all her weight on one hip with her wallet and keys sandwiched between her fingers, clearly stopped on her way to make a purchase.

“Is that Sasuke Uchiha?” She grinned. “I hardly recognized you, your hair has grown so much!”

Sasuke stared at her, perplexed.

She pouted. “You remember me don’t you?”

“Sakura,” he said with a nod.

She laughed and closed her car door. “I knew you would.” She stepped up onto the curb in front of him. If he wasn't already leaning on the wall, he would have backed up as she came _too close_ ; she was wearing tiny shorts, and a _tight_ tank top. The weather was hardly warm enough yet for that attire, but he guessed it was more comfortable than her perfectly pressed school uniform, and more flattering by far.

He looked down at her, trying not to look too far down. His fingers started to burn as he sucked in a long breath through his butt of a cigarette, waiting to hear what she had to say. He dropped it reflexively, crushing it under the heel of his boot, but took care not to blow smoke directly in her face.

“The term is over then at OU? And you came home for the break, I thought you’d stay for the summer semester.” She sounded surprised but certainly not disappointed.

Sakura smelled sweet– an artificial sugary scent that overwhelmed his nostrils– but Sasuke didn't find it unpleasant. “I was going to, but my brother convinced me to take the time off and stay with him.” He pulled another cigarette from the squashed carton in the pocket of his leather jacket and lit it, needing something to occupy his loose lips.

Sakura's eyes creased with her happiness. “That was nice of him! I applied to Oto you know. A little late but I'm not expecting trouble with admissions.” She forced a small laugh. “I thought it might be nice to get out of here, unlike everyone else in this town.”

“Don’t,” he advised. “Their med program is a disaster. Swear the head got his job there by killing too many patients to stay on staff in a real hospital.”

Surprise dawned on her face again. “How did you know I’m going to med school?”

Sasuke froze, caught knowing too much. Of course she had never told him she wanted to be a doctor. They were barely acquaintances in high school. But it wasn’t hard to tell based on her aptitude in the physical sciences, and her propensity for compassion. He had just assumed. And received a few unsolicited updates from an old teacher. “I pay attention,” he mumbled.

Sakura beamed. “Well, since you’re home we should catch up. You can-”

Uzumaki chose this time to burst out of the convenience store doors, jingling the bell hung over them, and drawing their attention. Rubbing the back of his head where he was obviously developing a bruise, he grumbled, “Ichiraku, you old fart. If I’m old enough to get rejected by the army, I should be allowed to buy your shitty beer.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Sakura clicked her tongue, turning her eyes back to him. “This isn’t a bad look for you,” she remarked, picking the cigarette from between his fingers before he could return it to his lips and placing it in her own for a quick inhale. “But don’t smoke too many of these, it’ll kill ya.” She held it between her fingers as she turned and sauntered back to her father’s car, without ever entering the store to get what she came for.

“Thanks, Doc,” came his reply.

“Don’t mention it,” she said, giving him a wave through the window as she turned the key in the ignition. “Just call me.” She threw the gear shift into reverse and sped off without giving him the chance to deny her request.

“Shit was that Sakura?” Naruto’s head jerked in the direction she had gone. “She’s even hotter than she was last year! Hey, didn't she just turn eighteen?” he giggled stupidly, wiggling his brows at Sasuke.

He scoffed in response. “Shut up, dumbass.”

* * *

Sasuke snapped his laptop shut, unable to log into his school account and check his grades on this shoddy connection. The scant Wi-Fi allowance Itachi paid for used up less than a week into the month. He would have to find somewhere with halfway decent internet to see it. He picked up his phone off the couch cushion next to him. The screen was opened to a contact he had never called.

 _Sakura Haruno_ it read with three little flower emojis accompanying her name. That blonde– Ino Something– had snatched his phone and put it in years ago, boasting that she was doing her best friend a favor since she _finally_ got a cell phone. To be honest the only reason he had never made use of the number was because he wasn’t convinced it was real. This wasn’t the first time he had slid his thumb across the screen and wondered. But he hadn’t looked at it since before he left for OU last August. He had barely thought about anything for nine months, but deadlines and gpas and when he would see the backs of his eyelids next.

Maybe Itachi was right to make him back off for a little while. It might do him some good if he took his mind off of earning his degree for a couple months. But just because he was on break didn’t mean he could forget about school. He should just put the phone down. Even if it was her number, there was no way of knowing she hadn’t changed it by now. He turned away from the screen, and didn’t even notice his thumb tap it as he placed the phone face down by his thigh.

Until he heard the low hum of a dialing call. Sasuke’s hand jerked back down to his phone faster than a shot. He stared in disbelief at the ringing phone. It was too late now to just hang up, she’d see his missed call. She might get the wrong idea. He just had to go through with it. And hope it wasn’t her after all.

She picked up on the third ring. “Hello,” came the voice that could only be hers.

“Sakura,” he answered. “It’s-”

“Sasuke!” Her tone belied the dazzling grin he could just hear spreading to her cheeks. “Missed me already, huh?”

He couldn’t help the way her cheerfulness made him want to say things he should keep to himself. “I was thinking about your offer,” he admitted, “to catch up.”

“Thinking of taking me up on it?” Sakura led him with a hopeful note in her voice.

“I don’t have a car,” he told her. He felt so awkward, his hands itched to throw the phone in any direction away from himself.

“I’ll borrow dad’s. We can take it anywhere you want to go,” she offered eagerly.

Floored at how easy to please she was, Sasuke spat out the first thing that came to mind. “The library?”

* * *

“You know, I have Wi-Fi at home,” she said as Sasuke leaned over the keyboard of the ancient desktop and watched his grades slowly load on the screen of Oto University’s banner website.

He was sure Sakura had a lot of things at home. Like a television larger than a cereal box that gets more than local channels, and her own bedroom with her own real bed, and parents who didn't want him anywhere near her or the bed in question.

“That’s so funny, I don’t remember asking,” he teased.

Sakura snorted and kicked the leg of the blocky library chair he was sitting in. “I’m just saying, your shitty college banner site will load way faster on a computer that was made _after_ I was born.”

He couldn’t help the tug on his lips hearing her melodic voice cursing. The contrast was laughable. He couldn’t tell if she was trying to put on a tougher mature act or if her sweet tone was holding back her true nature.

Finally numbers rolled up on the outdated monitor.

_3.94_

It wasn’t what he wanted to see. But it was enough to cling to his scholarship, so it would have to satisfy him for now.

The hand on his shoulder, accompanied by another wave of her sugary perfume as Sakura leaned over his shoulder, made him tense.

“That’s _not bad_ ,” she said politely. Maybe it wasn’t. For the bare minimum. But Sasuke had busted his ass this year, and still fallen short.

“Well what can you expect when you phone it in?” He feigned nonchalance and closed the window before she had a chance to inspect the page any further. He pushed away from the desk, and got to his feet. "Let's get out of here. There has to be something worthwhile to do in this godforsaken town."

* * *

As it turned out there wasn't. Another lap past Konoha's lone drive-thru cinched it. There were no elevated activities within city limits. Sasuke would've liked to take Sakura to a museum; listen to her wax philosophical over fine art and he could silently do the same over her. He would've settled for a park, dotted with natural beauty, anywhere she could focus her eyes away from him focusing on her. They weren't so lucky. This wasn't a sightseeing town.

Somehow they ended up outside his brother's apartment. Sasuke scanned for any sign that Itachi had returned from his latest unexplained absence, but found none. The last thing he needed now was Itachi's eavesdropping to unnerve Sakura.

Inviting her in felt like a concession. She had done him a favor and he wanted to return it, but bringing Sakura back to the apartment was the last thing he had wanted. Not only was it humiliating compared to her standard of living, but it seemed entirely self serving. He had only agreed after she had suggested they go to her house instead, reluctant to run into her mother and father. Now that they were here, however, he thought he might feel less guilty with some parental supervision after all.

Sakura set down primly on the couch that, unbeknownst to her, doubled as his bed. 

"Can I get you something?" Sasuke asked.

"Just some water would be nice, thanks," she said.

He maintained a casual tone as he went to retrieve a glass. "When's your graduation?"

"June seventh," she answered, putting her dainty hands on her knees. "Are you coming?"

Sasuke couldn't help but feel warm at the hopeful waver in her voice. Transparent. He told himself that that was the reason he liked her company. It was nice to feel wanted. Purely selfish.

He handed her the water and landed on the couch, beside her, but not _too_ close. "I don't really know anyone there anymore," he trailed off.

"You know me," Sakura offered, leaning in to bridge the space he'd left between them.

"And you'll be busy with family, you can entertain me on some less important day." It slipped out before he realized, only meant to be an excuse. But she was quick to latch onto it.

"So we'll see each other more, over the summer? You won't just run away to Oto before then."

Sasuke pushed a hand through his hair and hoped his face wasn't as hot as it felt. Where was all her confidence coming from? Was she not afraid of him rejecting her, or did she somehow know he just wasn't able to say no to her?

"Sure," he breathed, knowing he'd regret it sooner rather than later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! see you in the next one


End file.
